A Purse to Die For (16 page)

Chapter 25

On his way to the pawn shop, Rob reviewed a piece of physical evidence in the case—the murder weapon. It might have been languishing under the overhang, against the back wall of the Ferrero garage before it was wielded to kill Hilary Best. Jerry said he, Giuseppe, Anna and Carla never played softball as kids, but he did remember playing pick-up games as an adult with his brother and their two sons, Ian and Tony, and some of the other neighbourhood kids.
Including me,
thought Rob
—on weekends and holidays when families in Langdon Hills gathered to celebrate.

Trouble with that was it meant the entire Ferrero family, friends and neighbours could have recalled where the game bat was stashed. Some of whom—Jerry, Gina, Tony, Mandy and Becki, for instance—were willing to go so far as to state the bat
looked familiar
. But hell
,
if it was that same old bat, any stranger off the street could have grabbed it.

Rob did have several hard facts about the weapon. Like the brand
—L
ouisville Slugger
. T
he model
—
400SB
. And maybe
a serial number painted on the wood with black paint—80-2110-4
.

He
'
d studied the company webs
ite on the Internet and used the Dealer Locator function to discover Louisville Sluggers were only available in the States. He
'
d put a call through to their consumer inquiry line to see if they could offer up any information as to manufacture date, purchase date, retailer, purchaser…Nothing.

Of course, the bat handle had prints. It was smeared by more than a decade
'
s worth of big-game-organizing fingers. A health hazard long before it met with Hilary
'
s skull. He hoped Kilkenny
'
s proved more instructive.

Becki thought it was a shame about gay guys. She didn
'
t disapprove of t
heir lifestyle—no, lifestyle wa
s the wrong word because it indicated some kind of choice and she didn
'
t think they had one—but women lost out when
a
good-looking, kind, sensitive, talented, fun guy played for the other team. Ian being the exception to the rule because he exhibited so few of those qualities. Okay, maybe in a pinch she
'
d give him talented. Which was what she was thinking when she sat down on the long chair next to Ian
'
s chaise on the back deck.
"
How
'
s it going?
"
she asked.

"
Like crap,
"
he said.

"
Messed up right now,
"
she agreed. She leaned back and eased her feet up onto the seat cushion.

"
Taking off tomorrow. Don
'
t care if they haven
'
t found Reggie. Don
'
t care if they don
'
t know for sure it was him who killed that woman. I
'
m leaving. They can come arrest me in Toronto if they want me that bad.
Design at Nine
can
'
t afford to hold off production one more day. And Andrew…Well, Andrew
'
s another story altogether.
"

"
Hmmm,
"
said Becki.
"
Nice day, eh?
"

"
Swell.
"

"
Warm for September, even. Can
'
t remember the last time it was nice like this…I
'
m going to get a cold drink. Want one?
"

Ian rolled, turning his back.

"
Ian?
"
she asked.

He waved his arm dismissively.

She planted her feet firmly on the deck. Walked to the back door and stepped into the kitchen. A maple leaf swirled through with her on a breeze from outside. The screen slapped her back. She took off her shoes and walked across the black and white tiles. She
'
d barely opened the fridge when there was a crack.

"
What was that?
"
she exclaimed to no one in particular because there was no one else in the kitchen, but it was an automatic reaction, kind of like tripping on the sidewalk and turning to look at the spot that tripped you.

A car backfiring? No, the noise came from the back of the house, not the street. And it was close.

She shut the fridge door and listened. Nothing more. But it wasn
'
t her imagination. The crack was real. Sill…no reason to go all haywire. She dismissed what was probably the least likely explanation, yet it shoved its way back to the front of her thoughts anyway. Because of Hilary Best.

No, it had to be some poor squirrel blasted to kingdom come off a Langdon Hills Hydro transformer.
It happened. Once in Black Currant Bay, a grey squirrel shorted out the town
'
s electricity for an entire long weekend.

She opened the fridge door again. Checking. The interior light was working. Without taking a beverage, she marched back to her shoes, put them on, pushed open the screen door, stepped out
, too
k one deep breath and surveyed the back lawn from the far left. No wires where a squirrel might have met his maker. Ahead in the distance, past the maple tree, she saw the bench Mandy had been sitting on that morning, the spot where Hilary Best was found, and the pathway where she herself discovered Carla wandering in a daze. No fallen branches to explain the loud crack. Nothing out of the ordinary. It was when she scanned to her right that she saw Ian, nearly falling off his lounger, one arm trailing the boards of the deck, and a stain like a target on his back.

She screamed. Or not. Pins of light darted in front of her eyes like a test for peripheral vision.
Secure the scene? Check for a pulse? Call an ambulance?
She thought she remembered
secure the scene
was the first step in an emergency. It was crucial to do something.

Chapter 26

Gina was breathless.

Tony pulled Becki away from the body.
"
Stay back, Gina. Don
'
t come any closer.
"

"
Is it
…
?
"

"
Ian. He
'
s dead. Get Becki out of here. Don
'
t leave her side and don
'
t let her talk. No, wait.
"
He dug in his pocket and came out with a cellphone.
"
Call Rob first. It
'
s on speed-dial. Make sure you get through to him. Tell him I
'
m securing the scene.
"

Gina nodded. She seemed to be walking through a stage play. Nothing seemed real. Here was Becki sobbing quietly
,
while
Ian
wasn
'
t
making a sound. It wasn
'
t like Ian at all to be silent at a time like this. Ian relished drama. But then, nothing would ever be like Ian again.
Oh, Lord.

"
Wait a minute,
"
said Tony.
"
Where
'
s Linda?
"

"
At the hair salon with your mom.
"

"
And Jerry?
"

"
I don
'
t know. In town somewhere waiting for them.
"

"
Your parents?
"

"
Shopping.
"

"
Take her in
to
the kitchen
,
and give her some tea. Don
'
t let anyone out here, Gina.
"

Becki was stiff to the touch. Gina took her gently by the shoulders and steered her into the kitchen.

Tony stood over the body, frowning. Made to look like suicide, for sure. But Ian wasn
'
t the type to end it, and if he were, it wouldn
'
t be this way. There would be a dramatic scene before and a full audience. He would have left numerous farewell letters and elaborate instructions for the funeral.

Tony looked around. No notes, of course. Just a whole lot of blood.

The gun was a 9 mil. He
'
d never seen it before, as far as he knew. He wouldn
'
t touch it, of course. Wonder who it was registered to? If it was registered.

No, this was murder, he was sure of it. And it made him so angry he could hardly keep from hitting the brick wall with his fist.

Twenty minutes later, Rob stood looking over the body.
"
Why the hell don
'
t they do it in the bathtub?
"

"
What are you talking about?
"
Tony muttered.

"
Suicides. You wouldn
'
t believe how many of them do it on the living room floor. Impossible to clean up after. Bloody selfish, if you ask me. At least you
'
ll be able to wash down the deck here.
"

Tony looked at Rob and frowned.
"
This wasn
'
t suicide.
"

Rob walked around the side of the body.
"
You sure? Gun
'
s in the right place.
"

Tony shook his head.
"
Suicides don
'
t shoot themselves through the heart. They blow their brains out. And the psychology is all wrong. You know Ian. He
'
d want television cameras and a brass band.
"

Rob looked up.
"
That
'
s harsh.
"

Tony cursed.
"
I
'
m so angry I can hardly breathe. I know Ian. He would never kill himself. He loved life too much, with all its scenes and drama. And after inheriting two million? It doesn
'
t make any sense.
"

"
Tell me more,
"
Rob said.
"
Why would he be a target?
"

Tony leaned back against the brick wall and crossed his arms.
"
As I said—I know Ian. He was a sneaky bastard. Liked to insinuate things. If he knew something about the murder, he might just hint to the murderer in his sly way. That is exactly what he might have done. Totally in character. Stupid bastard. Bloody stupid bastard.
"
Tony heard his voice catch.

The
Scenes of Crime Operatives
team had arrived and came around the side of the house.

"
Becki found him?
"

Tony nodded.
"
She
'
s in the kitchen with Gina. I told her to say nothing to anyone.
"

"
Thanks. I
'
ll take her in the study. You can stay with Gina in the kitchen. If any others come in, keep them there.
"

Tony nodded. After a perfect night, what a hell of a way to end the day.

Gina made a fresh pot of tea. She looked at the wall clock. Where was Carla? Nellie would be coming home from school soon.

Outside, the SOCO team was finishing up.

Becki was in the study with Rob now
,
and she had Tony to herself.

Gina looked across the kitchen table at him and wondered if she would ever be the same again. Was it only hours ago she had been lying naked in his arms? Now she could hardly look at him without having a kaleidoscope of feelings welling up inside her. She wanted to be in his arms again, but for a different reason. Ian was dead
,
and she wanted her older cousin close to her, comforting her.

She watched Tony
'
s eyes focus on the screen door, deep in thought.

"
I know you think Ian knew something about the first murder. But have you thought about other motives?
"
She handed Tony a mug of tea.

"
What do you mean?
"

Gina pursed her lips. She
'
d been thinking hard, trying to keep her mind off the fact Ian was outside, not breathing anymore. So she
'
d forced herself to be business-like. It was easier.

"
Money. I always think money is the strongest motive, don
'
t you? What does this mean for the will?
"
she said.
"
Ian inherited two million dollars. What happens to that money now?
"

Tony looked up, alert.
"
I don
'
t know. Depends on how the will is written. I can
'
t remember the exact details.
"

"
What do you mean?
"

Tony frowned.
"
It might go to the person he has designated in his will. If Ian had one. Remember, he was superstitious. But it also might come to you and me. There
'
s often a clause in a will stating the recipient must survive the dead person by thirty days.
"

Gina felt a chill run through her.

"
But that
'
s terrible. That leaves so many suspects.
"

Tony raised one eyebrow.
"
Explain.
"

She blew on her tea to cool it.
"
Linda and Jerry would probably think the money would come to them. I know—it
'
s crazy to think anyone might suspect Linda of killing her own son for money, but you know what the media are like. Oh my God, the media, Tony. Ian has that cable show. We
'
ll get reporters up here for sure.
"

Tony cursed.
"
I
'
d better warn Rob. He
'
ll need to secure the place.
"
He started to rise.

"
Hold on a sec—before you do, let me think this through with you.
"
Gina started to panic. She didn
'
t want to be alone in the kitchen, not with a killer about. She inhaled deeply and tried to calm herself.
"
Linda and Jerry are suspects, but Ian might have left everything to Andrew. Linda wouldn
'
t think of that.
"
She took a sip from her mug. Her right hand shook, so she braced the mug with the left.
"
Did you ever meet Andrew?
"

Tony shook his head.

"
I have several times,
"
Gina said.
"
And I know things were rocky between Ian and Andrew. Andrew is quite good-looking and younger. He was sleeping around a bit—no, don
'
t interrupt me. I know what I
'
m talking about. It was common gossip at the studio. Now, look,
"
she leaned forward,
"
if Andrew thought he might inherit the two million that makes him a suspect
too
.
"

Tony nodded. He watched Gina closely.
"
Andrew knows Ian is going to change his will, that
'
s what you
'
re saying. So he strikes now, while Reg is still a suspect for the first murder. Nice piece of camouflage…burying one murder within another. Different motive…different killer. And the first one gets blamed.
"

Gina nodded.
"
And Tony—you
'
re saying the full eight million, after the legacies, might be split between you and me now since Ian is dead. That makes us suspects. Actually, even our parents could be suspects for the same reason.
"

He scowled.
"
That
'
s crazy. No one would suspect you. You just inherited two million—who the hell cares about more? Nobody would kill for that.
"

"
Ah, but you forget. I identified the first victim, Tony. As far as the police know, I was one of the few people who knew Hilary Best. I didn
'
t really know her, of course, but I knew who she was. There was a connection. You can bet the police have got my photo up there on the suspect board.
"

Tony stared. She could practically see his mind clicking over as he processed this new angle.
"
How long have you been worried about this?
"

Gina raised the mug to her lips and took a long sip. After a pause, she said,
"
Since last night. It didn
'
t register at first, since I was so darn proud of making the identification. Then it slowly dawned on me that maybe I hadn
'
t been too smart about it from my own point of view.
"

Tony shook his head.
"
Rob doesn
'
t suspect you.
"

"
Don
'
t discount this, Tony. We
'
ll be treated as suspects. That
'
s the hell of it.
"

"
What? Say it.
"

Gina cleared her throat.
"
It hardly matters who actually inherits. What matters is who thought they might.
"